


Road Trip

by kayethespade



Category: Havenfall is for Lovers
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Sarcasm, Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-03 18:59:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13347474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayethespade/pseuds/kayethespade
Summary: My MC (Aria West) and Diego have a lot of time to kill between Havenfall and Indianapolis (there and back as of 2/3/18). Gentle teasing ensues. And then there's some angsty awkwardness.





	1. Chapter 1

Aria's hands shifted their grip on the steering wheel as the mile markers whipped by. The only sound was the truck's engine, already broken down a few times but still running on maybe half a prayer. The awkward silence proved unbearable after a while. She pushed the radio on without thinking. The classic rock blasted through the static for a moment before she hurriedly turned it down. She braked a little from her flinching and glanced over at Diego in the passenger seat.

The tension was broken, and they both started laughing at her reaction. He shook his head in amusement.

"I didn't take you for a rock music person."

Aria rolled her eyes and brought her gaze back to the road. "And no one would expect Razi to like the bubblegum-iest pop that I have ever heard. We're an odd bunch." She laughed again, tapping on the wheel with her index finger.

The song changed soon after, and Aria couldn't help but hum along. Diego tried to ignore it for a moment. At least until she opened her mouth.

"I love rock and roll. Put another dime in the jukebox babay. I love rock and roll. Something shmeh meh uh dance with may."

Diego held his face in his hand. "You're ridiculous."

"Oh as if you've never done the same thing. Totally would've gotten down to Beethoven. Vivaldi, maybe? Did you know them personally?" she teased.

He frowned, but it was mostly performative. "Come to think of it, I got on well with Picasso."

"Really?"

"No."

Aria chuckled and changed the station when the hosts started talking. Popular music. "You have no room to judge me. I've seen you wear socks with sandals, doc."

He stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest. "It's a legitimate choice of footwear."

She smiled crookedly. "Just keep telling yourself that."

The pair eased back into a comfortable silence as the dulcet tones of Katy Perry washed over them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the return trip from Indianapolis after everything goes down at the motel. Diego lightens the mood for some of it.

Diego's knuckles were white around the steering wheel on the way back. Aria held herself tight as the thoughts washed over her again and again. How could she have been so stupid? She didn't even check to see it was him. And there was that kiss to deal with later. And he left. What was any of that supposed to mean? She looked up and caught him staring over at her. He returned his eyes to the road. 

Well. This couldn't get more awkward. 

A few more minutes passed in silence. It was a long way back. Aria thought about turning the radio on a few times. Just for some background noise. Something about that felt wrong with her in the passenger seat. As if reading her mind, Diego reached over and turned the volume down before setting it to a station Aria didn't recognize. The hosts talked about some inconsequential thing, but it didn't distract her enough. 

At least that was the case until the next song came on, jerking her from her downward spiral. 

"I threw a wish in the well. Don't ask me, I'll never tell. I looked to you as it fell. But now you're in my way." 

Aria leaned away from him, gawking open-mouthed as Diego flawlessly sang along. He caught her eye in his peripheral and a slow smile worked its way onto his lips. 

"Your stare was holdin'. Ripped jeans, skin was showin'. Hot night, wind was blowin'." 

She joined in with a harmony line. "Where d'you think you're goin', baby?" 

They sang along together for the rest of the song. Aria threw her head back to laugh at the end. Diego shook his head, finally letting his grip relax. 

"Why and how do you even know that station?" 

He sighed. "Patient's child had the radio in their house set to it while I was treating her. I had that song stuck in my head for six months." Diego glanced over at her with a slight smirk. "Good to know I finally got some use out of it." 

Aria laughed again. She face was stuck in a wide grin. 

"When did you learn to sing?" 

The question struck her as a bit odd, but she just shrugged and placed her hands behind her head. "Can't say much for the high school, but the choir program's decent. Grandma took care of what fees she could. I worked the odd babysitting gig for the rest. It was the only thing that made it all go away for a while." 

Softer music filled the comfortable silence. A slow, newer song. Aria shook her head to clear the memories. 

"What about you?" Diego titled his head. "Where'd you learn to sing?" 

"You know what they say. When in Rome." Aria gaped at him. "A far cry from the opera, no?" 

She chuckled behind her hand. "Well, then. Good teacher." 

"He would have been pleased to hear you say that. Also would have bragged a bit more." Diego smiled over at her. 

"What happened to not speaking ill of the dead?" She joked. 

He sobered a bit. "They are all alive in my mind, Aria. I remember all of it." 

She nodded in understanding. The song changed again. Aria jumped to the edge of her seat and turned the volume up. She bounced back and forth to the beat. "I used to think maybe you loved me, now baby it's true." 

It was Diego's turn to laugh. Aria almost moved to shove him over before remembering who was driving. She rolled her eyes instead and carried on. 

"Your vowels are terrible." He smiled as he said this. Two could play at that game. 

"So are yours!" 

"I'll grant you that." 

"Besides." Aria stretched up from a moment, letting out some hideous cracks. She could almost feel him cringe at the state of her joints. "Different style." 

Diego sighed to himself. "You hungry?" 

She shook her head. "Grabbed snacks before we left the city." Aria reached back behind her seat for a plastic bag of minor goodies. She went for the Korean BBQ beef jerky first. Diego shot her a sideways look, confused but intrigued. "Knew there'd be cool flavors at their 7-11." 

Diego changed the station back to something else. Damn those long commerical breaks. 

"-1989. My thoughts were short my hair was long. Caught somewhere between a boy and man." 

Aria got a scared look in her eye. Deer in the headlights. The song took her back years. A little more than a decade. She froze. She wanted to just enjoy the song, but the ice in her veins burned her from the inside. Diego turned off the radio. She didn't realize that the old emotions had overwhelmed her until she felt something wet sliding down her cheeks. She wiped her eyes on the back of her wrist, stubbornly refusing to look at Diego. Her eyes fixed instead to the dark horizon. She didn't want his pity, but she swore she could feel it on her back, sliding up her neck. 

The wall came back down. They stayed mostly silent for the rest of the drive home.


End file.
